Posts Tagged FIFA

As was expected by most pundits, the World Cup will take place in Europe in 2018 and in either the US, Australia or Asia in 2022. It appears, based on reports from all camps, that the last remaining holdouts with bids in for both Cups are going to withdraw their secondary bids (US from 2018, England from 2022).

The picture was a little muddier a year ago with FIFA allowing the countries from Europe and abroad to bid for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Because of this, there was a chance, however unlikely, that the 2018 cup could have gone to a country like the US or Australia and that Europe would have had to wait until 2022 to get another World Cup. This was deemed as unlikely by most experts however, as that would have meant that the World Cup would have been away from Europe for 16 years, something that FIFA would not want to do.

So, after the upcoming withdrawals from the US and England the World Cup bidding picture looks like this:

The hijab scarf — worn by girls and women to observe Islamic dress code — was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment, the Asian Football Confederation said. Despite the urging of Iran’s national Olympic committee for the ban to be reviewed by the International Olympic Committee, the Iranian under 18 girls soccer squad will not be participating in the coming youth Olympics this August.

In response to criticism regarding the decision, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, referenced soccer’s international rulebook which contains a section on player equipment, stating that “basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements.”

This is a peculiar problem for FIFA and soccer worldwide. The intent of the law was clearly to avoid religious persecution and problem by removing one potential source. Insisting that all teams wear uniforms that do not express religious or political opinions or agendas of any kind would normally help in that regard, but in this case the tolerance policy proves to be remarkably intolerant.

The best team from the Asian Football conference will not be playing in the tournament and it will be so because of a law that forces one side or the other to bend. FIFA has shown that they will not, and the Iranian Football Federation (F.F.I.R.I) certainly will not either. All in all, the whole thing is unfortunate as a team of hopeful young athletes who earned a spot in the Olympics will sit at home.

Iran was to have taken part in a six-nation tournament for girls at the inaugural competition in Singapore on Aug. 12-25. About 3,600 athletes, ages 14 to 18, will compete in 26 sports.

Thailand will now represent Asia in Iran’s stead against Turkey, Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and Papua New Guinea.

Australia may turn out to be a good choice for FIFA as the country is a major tourist destination and is located in an area that has never hosted World Cup Play before. Additionally, the country is notoriously fond of athletics, has a sound economy but has not, as of yet, seriously embraced soccer. A bid for the country should ignite and excite a “virgin” population of over 20 million people to buy into the sport and further its growth.

But despite all of this positive news, Australia has one teeny tiny complication. The World Cup falls smack dab in the middle of the Australian Rules Football (AFL) season. Aussie Rules Football, or “Footy” is an extremely popular sport down under and while the AFL has shown complete support for the country’s bid, FIFA is requiring that no other major sports leagues play at the same time as the World Cup Finals, which does not suit the AFL whatsoever. So Australia is trying to get an exemption from FIFA, believing that precedents exist that would allow other competitions to continue (i.e. Major League Baseball continuing play during the 1994 World Cup in the United States). Along with the proposed exemption would be a an entire relocation plan that would move AFL, Rugby and Cricket games to different locations during World Cup play so as not to compete.

by doublebug

Whether or not FIFA would allow such an exemption in a market as small and competitive as Australia we have yet to see, but one thing is for sure, this is one commited country. I can already see the laughter that would burst out if the United States Soccer Federation asked Jerry Jones to move the Cowboys out of Dallas for a month while soccer players take over Cowboys Stadium.